outgrow

American  

[out-groh] / ˌaʊtˈgroʊ /

verb (used with object)

outgrew, outgrown, outgrowing

1. to grow too large for.

   to outgrow one's clothes.

2. to leave behind or lose in the changes incident to development or the passage of time.

   She outgrew her fear of the dark.

3. to surpass in growing.

   watching one child outgrow another.

---

verb (used without object)

outgrew, outgrown, outgrowing

1. Archaic. to grow out; burst forth; protrude.

outgrow British  

/ ˌaʊtˈɡrəʊ /

verb

1. to grow too large for (clothes, shoes, etc)

2. to lose (a habit, idea, reputation, etc) in the course of development or time

3. to grow larger or faster than

---

Etymology

Origin of outgrow

First recorded in 1585–95; out- + grow

Explanation

To outgrow something is to become too big to fit in it, or to grow too mature for it. Most college students have outgrown their affection for stuffed animals. If they haven't, they might have a hard time making friends in the dorm. As you grow older and bigger, you outgrow all kinds of things: clothing, your childhood bed, your ice skates. You'll also outgrow many things in the sense of being too old for them to be appropriate or as appealing as they were when you were younger. Just about everyone outgrows their favorite picture books and cartoons eventually. The earliest meaning of outgrow was "surpass in growth" or "grow faster than."

Example Sentences

The bank is placed comfortably in terms of liquidity coverage ratio and loan-to-deposit ratio to outgrow India’s banking industry in the medium term, the analysts say.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 21, 2026

Curtis wrote in a note that while those concerns will probably linger, Broadcom “made a strong case for their AI revenue to outgrow the market and see continued growth” through 2028.

From MarketWatch • Mar. 5, 2026

The next step is to outgrow the novelty and become medal contenders, something Stokes says Jamaica can do by the 2034 Games in Salt Lake City.

From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 14, 2026

“There is a lot of rhetoric about small-caps being dead. But it’s not the case that the sequoias always outgrow the saplings,” says Chris Tessin, founder of Acuitas Investments, a firm specializing in small-caps.

From Barron's • Dec. 12, 2025

Children mostly outgrow the inability to separate their own knowledge from someone else’s, but not entirely.

From "The Sense of Style" by Steven Pinker